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More than a few people have been left scratching their heads since the announcement of Google's new premium Chromebook, the Chromebook Pixel. Some have praised its design while questioning its utility. Others have flat out called it a mistake. But when I see the Chromebook Pixel, I see Google making another deliberate move in a chess game that's played out over the last three years. If earlier Chromebooks were pawns, the Chromebook Pixel represents the next phase of strategy, bringing the knights and bishops into play as Google invests considerably more time, money, and expertise into the Pixel than any previous Chrome device.

The confusion arising from the announcement of the Pixel starts with a fundamental misunderstanding of the Chromebook concept; if you don't get the Chromebook, you'll be baffled by the Pixel. But more importantly, the Pixel is not the end-all be-all of Chromebooks, just the first in a new line of premium Chromebook products.

Google's Process, Applied to Chromebook
Google has a strategic game plan that serves it well, and the Chromebook rollout is just following that plan. Google has long had a tradition of refining products through public beta testing, releasing a limited number of products or invites to the public and using the resultant feedback to refine and hone the product further. Google did it with Gmail in 2004, Google Docs in 2007, and then Android in 2008, Nexus phones in 2010, and Nexus tablets in 2012. Heck, Google is doing it again right now with Google Glass.

First there was the CR-48 Notebook, Google's mysterious black reference model for the Chrome-powered laptops. It was a proof-of-concept that it gave away for free to the press and select social media influencers. But while it was free, it wasn't widely available. It was a teaser, giving the movers and shakers of the Web a taste of the new connectivity-over-hardware paradigm.

The first Chromebooks up for purchase weren't cheap. Not only were they nowhere near the $200 mark, they weren't even inexpensive for the hardware that was being offered. But here's what a lot of people seemed to missthat was never the point. The early Chromebooks weren't widely available; they weren't sold in stores, they weren't advertised on TV or online; those Chromebooks were the public beta.

This is how Google does hardware. A small release, priced high enough to cover their expenses while they trim the fat and buff out the rough spots until they reach the end goal. Once they've fixed the bugs and gotten the hardware costs down, thenand only thenwill it really be released as final. Ads go on the air. Units get shipped to stores. Devices get choice spots in Google's stores or even on Google's homepage. The beta test is over, now the real product is released.

Chromebook is the Bait, Pixel is the Hook
The next piece of the Pixel puzzle is understanding where it fits into the Chromebook world. The $200 Chromebook may attract bargain shoppers, but customers with more to spend won't want to keep buying the budget-friendly Chromebook over the premium offerings of other manufacturers. I think Google is attempting to create a new tier of devices within the Chromebook ecosystem. In addition to the nearly disposable Chromebooks we're getting now, there will also be a higher-end product, the Pixel line, where Google brings its A-game, with a perfectionist's eye toward design and a futurist's grasp on what your laptop should be able to do, all while embracing the Chromebook ethos.

I predict that the Pixel is the proof of concept, the CR-48 of a new breed of affordable premium devices, designed to show off what the Pixel can be, but the end goal is going to be much, much cheaper. Think Apple-quality design, with sub-$1,000 prices. Google is going to do to the premium computing space what it's already doing to the budget laptop and netbook spacesreimagine it, make it more accessible, and make it far more affordable. The question for the Pixel is "Why should I spend so much money for a premium product?"

Brian Westover is an Analyst for the Hardware Team, reviewing laptops, desktops, and storage devices.
As a child, Brian was frequently asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" His answer alternated between Superman and Batman. This was cute when he was five, but worrisome at seventeen. Naturally, he is now a journalist, writing about technology and gadgets.
Brian has been writing professionally since 2007, and his work has appeared in business newsletters, websites, textbooks, and magazines. He earned his degree in Communications from...
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